Title- The World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient JapanAuthor- Ivan MorrisPages- 352Date Published- 1964Table of Contents- 1. The Heian Period 2. The Setting 3. Politics and Society (A. The Emperors B. The Fujiwaras C. Society D. Administration E. Economy F. Provincials and the Lesser Breeds) 4. Religions 5. Superstitions 6. The 'Good People' and their lives 7. The Cult of Beauty 8. The Women of Heian and their Relations with Men 9. Murasaki Shibiku 10. Aspects of 'The Tale of Genji'Brief Description- A comprehensive study of Heian Japan based upon a joint analysis of fiction and non-fiction from the period.Knowledge Level- Beginner (some pre-existing knowledge of the Heian period might be useful)Recommended- Yes. Morris provides a rich and detailed account, blending lively prose with informative academia.

I could always ninja into one of his lectures. I think I've got some black PJs here somewhere.

I'd totally love to see a video of you ninjering into one of his lectures. You could tell him you're a ninjer and you want to become a sammyrai and a soehay as well, so you can have your super secret assassination skills and poisoning, but also knowing the sword skills of Musashi, and the elite detection of other spies through the soehay sutras and organize your own amazing ninjer-sammyrai-soehay-ikki.

I'm going to swallow 3 pints of undiluted whiskey, and pour lighter fluid on my eyes now for writing that...

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Samurai-Story-Japans-Noble-Warriors/dp/1843402076"]Samurai: The Story of Japan&#39;s Great Warriors: S.R. Turnbull: 9781843402077: Amazon.com: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51giBC3mXqL.@@AMEPARAM@@51giBC3mXqL[/ame](there's an error in the title: "Noble" not "Great")

Title- Samurai: the Story of Japan's Noble WarriorsAuthor- Stephen TurnbullPages- 256Date Published- 2004Table of Contents- .Preface and Acknowledgments .Introduction (The World before the Samurai) 1. The Samurai in Early Japanese History 2. The Age of the Samurai 3. Samurai Organization and Daily Life 4. Samurai Armor and Costume 5. Edged Weapons 6. Missile Weapons 7. Battlefield Tactics .Appendix (time chart) .Bibliography .Glossary .IndexBrief Description- Turbull describes in general the story of Japan's warrior class, roughly from the VII century AD from the Meiji Restoration, focusing on the major wars of the Era of the samurai and other various aspects of their world(weapons,castles, the figure of the ronin and the samurai under foreing powers...). The entire book is provided with tons of high-quality photos and pictures(with no less that one photo per page). The volume also contains some interesting paper vellum sections, enabling us to examine the evolution of the samurai armor, from the Gempei Wars to the Sengoku Jidai.Knowledge Level- BeginnerRecommended- Yes. Notl as an introductory("first book") work on the subject

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/History-Japan-1334-George-Sansom/dp/0804705232/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371164240&sr=8-1&keywords=a+history+of+japan+to+1334"]Amazon.com: A History of Japan to 1334 (9780804705233): George Sansom: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41jx0s4HC6L.@@AMEPARAM@@41jx0s4HC6L[/ame]

Title- A History of Japan to 1334Author- George Sansom Pages- 500 Date Published- 1958Table of Contents-1.The Land 2. The People 3. The Yamato State 4. The Impact of Chinese Culture 5. The Capital City, 710-774 6. The New Capital, 794-894 7. Reaction Against Chinese Influence 8. The Fujiwara Regents 9. The Rule of Taste 10. Government by Cloistered Emperors 11. Heian Society. Its Beliefs 12. The Growth of a Warrior Class 13. Kiyomori 14. The Gempei War 15. The Eastern Warriors 16. The Feudal State 17. The Hojo Regents 18. Administrative Reforms and Relations With the Court 19. The Hojo Regents, 1242-84 20. Relations With the Asiatic Mainland 21. Japan After the Mongol InvasionsBrief Description-A pretty detailed overview of Japanese history from its formation until 1334. Knowledge Level-Advanced. A beginner could easily pick up this book and gleam a lot from it. I would just recommend to have some sort of background knowledge going into it so you know where the inaccuracies are in the book. Recommended- Yes. As I said above there are some inaccuracies, but any book written over 50 years ago will have that. Sansom's work has stood the test of time pretty well and its a great source to have on your bookshelf.